Until the End
by xxSilverStaRxx
Summary: It all started when they failed their mission for the TITANS group... and everyone knows that the TITANS never accepted failure.


The thick night air of the Vietnamese jungle hung still over the four people crouched in the shadows. A lizard sat on a rock close by watching the foreign creatures gather around a dark metallic box, making hushed whispers into a small microphone. The lizard cocked its head thoughtfully but after a few minutes it decided these new organisms were of no interest to it, therefore the lizard slid silently into the grass, into the shelter of the darkness.

"You guys weren't showing up, the next patrol group was going to come any second. We had no choice but to pull out" an apologetic voice sounded through the earphones. "You'll have to walk back to the base."

"WALK!" Robin hissed in an angry whisper. "We'll have to walk all night! Can't you send another car to fetch us?" There was disappointed looks from all around him, Robin's teammates were in no hurry to get back to the base and tell the Major they were unable to secure any information.

"Sorry Robin, we made an agreement with our mole" the apologetic voice was now resolute "The alarm in the forest will only be turn off from 3 a.m. to 3:15."

"Well, how do you expect my team to walk through the forest in the dark without tripping the alarms?" Robin was partly glad for the darkness despite what he said, for it concealed the steam coming out of his ears. Although the other three people can almost feel the hot air it blowing into their faces.

"I guess you'll just have to be extra careful. Don't worry Robin, I'll tell the Major to not expect you back till noon." Robin could almost hear the sadistic grin on the face of the person on the other side of the line.

The line was cut before Robin had a chance to plead one more time. Sighing Robin took off the headphones and silently ordered Cyborg to gather up the radio equipment. After a few seconds of silence Robin realized his teammates were staring at him with wide hopeful eyes. "…Raven refused to give us a ride; we'll have to walk back." Everyone released the breath they were holding. Judging by the looks on their faces Robin could swear they just won the lottery.

The trip was long and tedious, but everyone, even Robin wanted the march in the sweltering heat forever. They knew what waited for them when they got back to the base. People in the TITANS didn't screw up; if they did they get put behind a desk for the rest of their careers. Captains in the TITANS don't screw up neither; if they screw up they get killed. During the whole trek Starfire sobbed, Beastboy sniffed when he thought no one was paying attention, and Cyborg just walked looking at the ground with his lips set in a straight line. Robin was deep in thought about what it would feel like to die.

This crazy tradition could be traced all the way back to the start of the TITANS some fifty years ago. At first, the TITANS boasted of the most elite soldiers. When the "GATE" mission went up in flames (quiet literally) Captain Carp's team became the first to have failed an operation. No one was blaming Carp, but being the proud man that he was, Carp committed suicide. Five month later, Master Sergeant Kettle in charge of Operation "MINE" was accused of negligence, and ignorance after the mission was aborted. Therefore Kettle was executed. After five years of commanders dying left and right, it became one of the identities of TITANS. No captain of a failed mission was to live, it was an unspoken rule.

Bruce felt anger rising in his chest. Another of their top operatives have been found out, his body was sent to the major in pieces; in a box. Bruce gritted his teeth. He'd be damned if he sent another man in. But Slade was too dangerous not to keep an eye on. In the last report their mole sent him; Slade have been making frequent visits to Colonel **Alexey Pajitnov** (I was desperate for a Russian name, so I used the name of the inventor of Tetris). This unnerved Bruce, the Colonel was Bruce's only hope of defeating Slade if he did choose to launch a full scale attack. Darn, Bruce cursed in his mind. How did Slade know he was in Vietnam anyways? If Slade manage to convince Colonel into joining him, it would be the end of civilization as they knew it.

"Sir, Robin's back." Raven poked her head into the sleepy room, which is the major's office.

"Good. I can't wait and see what kind of information Richard dug up." Bruce said. His heart felt lighter already at the prospects of good news.

"Robin, lets see it" Bruce boomed as he bursted into the make shift meeting room. "What did you find at that old bunker?"

Robin drew a sharp breath at the sight of the Major. He felt sweat trickling down his back. He had not expected to be so nervous in front of the Major, but perhaps he was nervous at the face of death.

It was the longest hour of Richard's life as he went over every disastrous detail of the doomed mission. Occasionally hearing a gasp from Raven or seeing Bruce shake his head in disappointment.

"Richard" Bruce announced after hearing the report, "go get some sleep, I'm sure you're tired." Robin grunted as he got up from the chair. He stopped at the door, wondering if he should say any last words to the Major. But he decided there will be time for that later as he headed out the door and disappeared into the darkness of the corridors.

It was 2 a.m. Raven's wrist watch told her as she walked silently down the barren hallways towards a mysterious tapping noise coming from the Major's office. Despite being in the middle of summer in Vietnam, Raven felt goose bumps on her arms, and regretted not bringing a sweater.

(Warning!! Next part is totally ripped from Tiger in Barbed Wire.)

When Raven stepped into the Major's office, she gasped at the mess of documents spilt unto the desk. Raven didn't even know there were so many documents in a make shift temporary base like this. As Raven's eyes wandered away from the desk she became aware of the Major sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, knocking his head half-heartedly against the wall. That explained the tapping.

"He's like a son to me" the Major said before Raven could say anything "How can I let him die?" the remark was followed by another two half-hearted knocks. Raven remained silent as she moved to sit beside the Major, putting her hand on his shoulder as a meek offering of comfort.

"General Stanly is coming tomorrow; maybe we should report this to him…" Bruce brooded talking more to himself than to Raven.

"Stanly!" Raven drew a sharp breath, "But Richard will…"

Raven was abruptly interrupted by the Major's hand on hers. "We all have our moments of weakness" Bruce said, his voice quivering. Raven, though still shocked at the Major's decision nodded stiffly.

**That's all for now, it's totally written by Star so don't send the hate mail to Silver k? Maybe I can convince Silver to get involved a little bit, but it's not likely. I'll try to update, but it may take me a while. I hate the fact that I had to use the Tetris inventor's name, but I'm always totally brain dead when it comes to names. Hope I din't offend any Tetris fans.**


End file.
